Baseball Game Preview: Corona Panthers vs. Norco Cougars

Corona is preparing for their first league matchup of the season on Monday. A feisty cat fight will be fought as Corona Panthers take on Norco Cougars at 4:00 p.m. They are currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt want to keep things rolling.

Corona faced another nationally ranked opponent in their previous game: La Mirada, who was ranked seventh at the time (Corona was ranked first). Everything went Corona's way against La Mirada last Tuesday as Corona made off with a 10-1 victory. That nine run margin sets a new team best for the Panthers this season.

Billy Carlson

Runs Batted In (Career)

03/04/25 @ La Mirada	5
05/10/24 @ Aquinas	4
03/25/24 @ Santiago	3
03/20/24 vs King	3
03/01/25 vs Summit	2

The team relied heavily on Billy Carlson, who went 3-for-4 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs. Those five RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Anthony Murphy, who went 1-for-5 with one triple and two RBI.

Meanwhile, Wednesday just wasn't the day for Norco's offense. They fell just short of St. John Bosco by a score of 2-0 on Wednesday.

Norco also got a good showing from Landon Hovermale, who tossed three innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Norco is 2-1 when Hovermale allowsthree or fewer hits, but 1-2 otherwise.

Corona's win was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 4-0. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.7 runs over those games. As for Norco, their loss dropped their record down to 3-3.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Corona has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Norco struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Corona skirted past Norco 9-8 in their previous meeting back in March of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for Corona since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.